AFCON, CAF and the shrinking space of fairness and freedom

By Ademola Owolabi

Between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026, many African countries gathered in the beautiful North African nation of Morocco for the continent’s biggest football competition, known as the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

With its scenic landscapes and impressive infrastructure, Morocco provided a fitting stage for the tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football.

On 18 January 2026, Senegal emerged victorious, defeating the host nation Morocco, while Nigeria claimed third place. On paper, it was a tournament that delivered excitement, drama, and high-quality football. Beneath the surface, however, it told a more troubling story.

ALSO READ: TIMELINE: How CAF arrived at stripping Senegal of AFCON 2025 title

Modern competitive sport often thrives on marginal gains such as time-wasting, simulation, tactical fouls, all part of the dark arts teams deploy in pursuit of victory. Referees are expected to manage these excesses and uphold fairness. Yet, in this tournament, something more insidious unfolded.

Throughout the competition and most glaringly during the final, Moroccan supporters and officials crossed the line from passionate support into outright interference. The Senegalese goalkeeper became a repeated target of distraction tactics. In one particularly disgraceful moment, his face towel was brazenly stolen in an attempt to unsettle him.

At one point, a reserve goalkeeper was forced to act as a makeshift security guard, fending off individuals intent on disrupting play. The match officials, disturbingly, appeared indifferent. What should have been firmly sanctioned was instead tolerated. Silence, in this case, became complicity.

Towards the end of the match at regulation time, Senegal scored what could have been a winner. The referee disallowed it. The match continued and during the extra time, a controversial penalty was awarded against Senegal and the bottled-up emotion of injustice was let loose.

The match was temporarily disrupted as some Senegalese players left the pitch. This fact is very crucial as not all Senegalese players left the pitch. At least, Sadio Mane was on the pitch, and no player left the stadium.

After some minutes, the match resumed, and the rest was history. Senegal won and were crowned the champion of Africa. However, Morocco, the new bride of CAF, was not satisfied that its investments were not rewarded. It protested to CAF and on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, the unthinkable happened. CAF stripped Senegal of its championship and, via email, handed over victory to Morocco.

The justification? Article 82 of the AFCON regulations. These provisions state that a team may forfeit a match “if for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, or refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered the loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition. The same shall apply for the teams previously disqualified by the decision of CAF.”

But did Senegal breach any of these provisions? No. The team did not withdraw and a temporary protest cannot reasonably be equated with abandoning a match, especially one that resumed and concluded under official supervision. If Senegal had truly violated these provisions, one must ask: why were they initially crowned champions?

This decision raises uncomfortable questions about CAF’s neutrality. Morocco, as the host nation, invested heavily in the tournament. But does hosting now guarantee entitlement to victory? CAF has never hidden its intention to have Morocco crowned as the Champion. CAF condoned a whole lot of infractions by Morocco and its (un)sportsmanship conduct throughout the tournament.

It may be that CAF has become a (with all due respect) a lapdog of host nations because of how frequent AFCONS come up. Every other continental tournament, such as UEFA, CONCACAF and Copa America, all come up in an interval of four years. Only AFCON comes up every two years. This places CAF in an unenviable situation of becoming indebted to any nation that steps out to host the tournament and thereby save CAF from its self-imposed embarrassment.

Across Africa, reactions have ranged from disbelief to satire. In places like Kenya, Morocco has been mockingly dubbed “email champions”, a label that reflects a deeper crisis of legitimacy. This is about more than one match or one decision. It is about the integrity of African football.

In Nigeria, there is a growing concern that elections are increasingly decided in courts rather than at the ballot box. Football must not follow the same path where titles are determined in boardrooms rather than on the pitch.

Sport derives its legitimacy from fairness, transparency, and respect for rules. Once those are compromised, the entire system begins to erode.

CAF urgently needs institutional reform, not cosmetic adjustments, as African football deserves governance that is transparent, consistent, independent, and accountable.

If Senegal committed an infraction, it may warrant a sanction. But punishment must be proportionate, lawful, and just. Stripping a team of a legitimately won title under circumstances that clearly fall outside the governing rules is none of these things.

It is arbitrary, unjust, and a stain on African football. As the Nigerian proverb goes: when a situation goes beyond tears, men laugh. But this is no laughing matter. Free Senegal. Restore fairness. Save African football.

Ademola Owolabi is a legal practitioner based in Lagos State, Nigeria.